Harbor Seals

Just a quick photo montage from yesterday's jaunt down Hwy 1.  Bean Hollow Beach is a wonderful beach to explore about 15 miles south of Half Moon Bay, not a great walking beach, but so many tide pools to explore among the rocks and lots of sea life to view.  It is one of my very favorite places to go to enjoy listening to the wind, the sounds of crashing waves and catch a few harbor seals taking a Saturday afternoon nap.





Tidepools.....

 Dark Purple Sea Star

Rock Crabs scurried into all the cracks - really hard to get them to stay still for a photo op!

Green sea urchins with purple spines

Harbor Seals.... we counted over 30 seals and pups sprawled all over the rocks.  Tom scrambled down the rocks and was able to capture a few close-up.  Don't worry, we didn't get very close, there was still a deep lagoon between us and the seals!  

I am so happy to have my camera back!  Hope you  all had a wonderful weekend - 

Washed Ashore! "Plastics, Sealife and Art"

Tom and I spent Saturday afternoon at one of my favorite places here in the Bay Area - The Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands.   


The Marine Mammal Center does many wonderful things for our marine mammals; harbor seals, elephant seals, California sea lions, even an occasional sea otter may find themselves here in the hospital after being found injured on one of our local beaches.  Sometimes the doctors and volunteers even perform miracles!


From the Marine Mammal Center website: 

"Our mission is to expand knowledge about marine mammals—their health and that of their ocean environment—and to inspire their global conservation. Our core work is the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured marine mammals, supported by state-of-the-art animal care and research facilities, a corps of dedicated volunteers, and an engaged community."

The "Washed Ashore" art exhibit was created to bring awareness to how dangerous plastics are affecting our oceans, and how even small changes can help.   "This community art project has turned the ugly reality of ocean trash into beautiful sculptures of the marine life we strive to save, inspiring us all to re-think our use of plastics and change our habits."    

"Henry" greets visitors as they arrive at the center - 15 feet of every imaginable piece of collected plastic make up this incredible sculpture! 

Just a few bullet points to consider:

1.  100's of volunteers collected all of this trash from 20 miles of Oregon beaches

2.  Over 7000 pounds of trash were collected

3. 99% of all trash collected was petroleum based 

      - everything from toothbrushes,hairbrushes, Styrofoam, lighters, fishing rope, soap bottles, kids toys, and every size of flip-flop you could possibly imagine!

Lidia the Seal

Jellie

Sea Turtle

Whale Bones

Starfish 

These masks were made of pieces of collected garbage that were too small for the larger sculptures - there's probably 30 detailed masks to see, these are only a few examples!

There were so many sculptures to see, and it gave us even more to think about... 

Some ideas to consider:

1. Bring an extra bag to the beach (not only for your seaglass!) to pick up and dispose of trash

2. NO more plastic bags - bring your own to the grocery store

3.  NO more bottled water

4.  Use as many recycled products as possible

5.  Reuse, recycle, and reduce

Even the small things can help!  Don't forget to leave a note on our Eco-Friendly Pillow post and enter our giveaway for a Sea Turtle Pillow - and if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, make sure to see the Washed Ashore exhibit before it's gone in October.

Our First Giveaway - Featuring Wabisabi Green Modern Eco-Friendly Pillows

We're kicking this week off with a giveaway for 3 reasons:


1.  We'd like to re-introduce Jolee Pink, the artist behind Wabisabi Green.   (We love her fabulous eco-friendly beach house pillows!)

2.  We'd like a chance to get to know more of our coastal lifestyle friends - both here, and on our facebook page

3.  We want to reinforce our love of the sea, and the protection of the oceans with a giveaway of a Cocoa Tortuga- Sea Turtle Ocean Throw Pillow.  Wabisabi Green donates a portion of every sale towards Sea Turtle Conservation with Pro Peninsula Community and Nature. To learn more visit: propeninsula.org   Pretty great way to support conservation efforts!

Jolee lives in the tiny community of Encinitas, in southern California, a seaside town, where her appreciation of the ocean environment has continued to grow.

Her images are inspired by nature, world travels and the southern California coastal lifestyle. She combines bright colors with fresh bold designs to add sizzle and pop to her eco chic home decor line.  She would love to hear your ideas for new designs!   Leave her a note on her Wabisabi Green Facebook page

Here's how to enter our Giveaway:

1. Become a new follower of the Everything Coastal Blog and/or leave us a comment about your eco-coastal lifestyle.

or

2. Join/Like Wabisabi Green's Facebook friends and leave a comment for Jolee on her Facebook page.  We would love to hear from you!     http://www.facebook.com/WabisabiGreen

**All entries (U.S. addresses only) must be received by midnight, Sunday July 31, 2011.  Contest winner will be announced on the following Monday, August 1.

Good-Luck!! 

Here's a few of  my favorite  Wabisabi Green Eco-Friendly pillows on our site!

Purple, coral, slate starfish pillow!  

Sapphire Blue Starfish Pillow

Light aqua blue and white crab pillow